My body suddenly jolted at the loud scream of that alarm clock, which pierced the silence of the room like a war siren.
I stood up in terror, and with an instinctive reaction I couldn't suppress, I charged my fist with all the pent-up tension inside me and brought it down upon the source of the sound.
The alarm clock vanished, turning into scattered metal fragments in the blink of an eye, and it didn't stop there; even the small wooden shelf carrying it
completely shattered under the force of my fist, turning into scattered planks and splintered pieces whose wreckage echoed throughout the silent room.
I stood there blinking several times, my breath racing in my chest, trying to comprehend what had happened.
"Damn it... it was just an alarm clock,"
I muttered in a hoarse voice, my heart drumming the beats of war insanely due to the sudden fright.
I looked at the chaos I had caused in mere seconds, then ran my hand through my disheveled hair while exhaling in frustration:
"Damn! Is this the sound of an alarm or an emergency bell for an alien invasion?"
I sighed for the thousandth time this morning, then burst into a bitter, sarcastic laugh as I contemplated the pile of wood on the floor:
"A very promising start, Aria... well done."
I gathered my scattered self and headed to the bathroom, splashing my face with cold water to drive away the remnants of sleep and panic, preparing my being for my first school day in this organized hell.
I began putting on the academy uniform piece by piece.
When I reached that irritatingly short skirt, I paused for a moment; I couldn't trust such clothes in a place teeming with dangers.
Therefore, I wore black elastic shorts underneath it, short enough to disappear under the skirt, but granting me freedom of movement and covering me in case I had to engage in a sudden fight or an unexpected combat leap.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror; the black uniform with its golden engravings hugged my body in a way that suggested strength, and the black stone in my necklace lay upon my chest with a deceptive calm.
I truly looked like one of the "Reaper Elite," but the look in my eyes said something else entirely.
I stood before the mirror and began brushing the long, wavy strands of my red hair; it flowed down my back with a strange fluidity, as if it were a waterfall of dormant lava.
I brushed the mascara wand over my lashes with light touches, making my eyes stand out with their usual sharpness, and that mysterious dark redness in them grew deeper and more enchanting.
I applied a bit of lip balm, then picked up the luxurious "Vasilis" perfume bottle, spraying a light mist while smiling sarcastically; its scent clung to the skin as if imposing its control.
I leaned down to put on my high-heeled shoes, then straightened my posture, casting one last look at my reflection.
I looked extremely feminine and attractive, and the black academy uniform with its golden touches along with my flamboyant red hair created a breathtakingly sharp contrast.
I scratched my head in sudden confusion and whispered to myself:
"Isn't this a bit exaggerated? Am I going to study or to a fashion show?"
But I soon brushed the idea away, raised one eyebrow defiantly, and placed my hands on my waist, as a confident side-smile formed on my lips.
"So be it... I didn't do anything strange, this is simply Aria."
I turned to leave the room, the click of my heels on the marble floor emitting a steady sound announcing my arrival.
I know that behind this door, labyrinthine corridors and watching eyes await me, but I was ready to leave my first mark in the corridors of
"The Reaper Elite"
I stopped in the middle of the vast corridor, turning around in amazement while staring at those aligned doors and walls that seemed never-ending.
"My God... how will I get out of this cursed wing?"
I whispered in frustration and began walking in the front corridor, turning right and left, searching every corner hoping to glimpse a human being to guide me to Vasilis's office, but to no avail.
The place seemed deserted and desolate at this early hour, as if I were stuck in a stupid maze designed specifically to humiliate me.
After a long search that exhausted me and made me lose my patience, I finally spotted one of the female employees walking a distance away from me.
I did not hesitate, but raised my voice enough to pierce the silence of the corridor:
"Excuse me! Wait a moment!"
She turned to me with features covered in wonder, so I headed toward her with hurried steps, and before my breath returned to normal, I said in an inquiringly calm tone:
"I apologize to you, but how do I get out of here? And where exactly is the principal's office located?"
She was staring at me at first with narrowed eyes, trying to explore my identity, and suddenly...
Her gaze fell on the "Reaper Elite" emblem embroidered in gold on my uniform jacket.
At that moment, I saw terror manifest before my eyes; her pupils dilated insanely, and her face turned pale, until I noticed the clear trembling of her limbs as she tried to stay steady.
"What's wrong with her? Did she see a ghost or what?"
I wondered to myself suspiciously.
She took a step back and said in a trembling voice dripping with confusion:
"I... I'm sorry, Miss! I deeply apologize... I... I will guide you certainly, just follow me."
She turned and walked before me with stumbling steps as if she were fleeing a fire, while I followed her, shaking my head in disbelief.
"My God, truly, what is wrong with her?"
I felt a tightening sensation creeping into me; why was she so terrified just
knowing that I am from the Reaper wing?
Is the reputation of these students that bad?
Are they monsters in the eyes of the rest or what?
I walked behind her in silence, the click of my heels on the marble floor now appearing clearer and sharper amidst her silent fear, and I began to realize that being part of the "Elite" carries a weight I never expected.
In front of us, the path opened to a towering spiral staircase extending downwards in a majestic way; do I live at the top of the building or what?
I began descending behind her calmly, the sound of my heels echoing in the void.
I didn't encounter any student on my way, which made me wonder suspiciously:
"Did I wake up too early, or am I late and everyone is in their classes?"
As soon as we finished that staircase which I imagined would never end, the scene opened to a vast courtyard in the center of the academy.
A masterpiece of supernatural beauty; a huge fountain from which shimmering water flowed, magic particles shining in it as if they were melted stars, and butterflies made of pure "Aether" fluttering everywhere, leaving behind trails of light.
On the right corner, a small garden extended, containing flowers of shapes and colors I had never seen the likes of, looking as if they were fashioned from threads of magic, not from the earth's soil.
I smiled slightly; for despite my hatred for this place, its beauty forced the eye to contemplate.
I continued walking behind the employee until we finally reached the administrative wing, where the classrooms and teachers' offices lined up with suffocating solemnity.
We turned right, and after only a few steps, the woman suddenly stopped.
She bowed her head toward the ground, avoiding looking at me as if I were a plague about to infect her, then said in a gasping speed before fleeing from me:
"T.. This is the principal's office!"
I blinked in surprise as I watched her phantom disappear at the corner of the corridor.
"What a coward you are,"
I muttered in annoyance and turned toward the massive wooden door standing before me with its black prestige.
I gathered the remnants of my pride, knocked on the door with light but confident knocks, then pushed it slowly and entered.
The door opened to reveal the spacious office drowned in an aura of mystery and luxury, and I stood there at the threshold, searching with my eyes for that arrogant man amidst his piles of papers and his plush seat, ready for the first confrontation on this eventful day.
I finally spotted him; he was standing by the large window, his tall body leaning with an irritating coldness while he slowly exhaled his cigarette smoke, letting the ash mix with the morning's calm.
He turned to me with a calculated slowness, as if his movement itself was part of his prestige, and began scanning me with his deep black eyes;
his scan was precise, from the top of my head, passing through my official uniform that hugged my body, down to the tip of my shoe.
His eyebrows rose slightly, perhaps in admiration or surprise, before his eyes met my sharp eyes.
I didn't blink, but returned his gaze with an icy coldness befitting one who had faced death repeatedly, and said in a tone dripping with sarcasm:
"The class... Mr. Harasser."
His eyes widened for a moment, and he appeared surprised by my audacity, but soon a light, suppressed laugh escaped from between his lips; he realized immediately that I meant those insolent looks with which he just "scanned" my body.
I continued with the same cutting coldness, as if I were commanding him:
"The class number..."
He nodded his head and began approaching me with suspicious, quiet steps—the steps of a predator confident in his control.
His face returned to its stony stillness that signaled permanent danger, then he tilted his head directly in front of my face, until I felt the brush of his breath, and said in a deep, mellow voice:
"D-1."
He moved away from me with the same calmness, heading to sit behind his massive desk with total confidence.
I turned to leave, and before stepping over the door's threshold, I stopped for seconds and turned to him, saying with feigned indifference:
"Oh, regarding the alarm clock... I broke it unintentionally."
I left the office before hearing his response, leaving him behind with his looks that spoke of silent shock as if he were saying to me:
"Really, Aria? In the first five minutes?"
I felt a small victory elating in my chest as I walked through the corridor, heading toward my mysterious class, carrying with me the scent of his perfume and his new challenge.
My rhythmic steps were the only echo in those cold corridors, my eyes moving with deadly boredom between the class numbers carved coldly on the walls.
"Where is it, for heaven's sake?"
I muttered in annoyance, feeling as if the hallways were deliberately stretching to test my running patience.
After a bitter search journey, my gaze finally settled on that door.
It was different, provocative in its silence; a door without a handle, split into two halves with engineering precision, and locked firmly in a way suggesting it only yields to those hidden powers... Magic.
That energy of which I don't possess a single atom, and which I don't desire anyway.
A bitter, sarcastic laugh escaped me.
"Why is everything against me today?"
To hell with them, even their cursed doors are drowned in their arrogant philosophy.
I raised my hand and knocked lightly, yet not without caution.
Suddenly, silence prevailed inside; the whispers stopped as if my knock were an omen of doom.
"You may enter!"
The teacher's voice came from inside in a confident tone, so I raised my eyebrows in strong disapproval.
Is this fool joking with me? How do I enter when their locked door defies the laws of physics?
I knocked again, but this time with greater force, as if I were emptying my anger into the solid metal.
"I said enter!"
The voice repeated, but in a sharp tone this time, from which a suppressed anger rose.
Fine, genius, you asked for this... so don't blame me for the results.
I exhaled sharply and placed my fingers in that narrow slit separating the two doors.
I began pushing them apart slowly at first, then I gathered my latent strength and threw them aside.
"BAM!"
A terrifying sound erupted as if a thunderbolt had struck the place.
The wall surrounding the door trembled, and cracks exploded in its stones like giant spiderwebs drawing instant destruction.
The air in the hall froze, and collective gasps from the students rose to fill the void.
I stood there, in the heart of the flying dust, eyeing the professor with a cold look.
He was standing behind the wooden table, stunned, his eyes widened to a frightening degree, while the pen slipped from his trembling hand to hit the ground with a sound that was the only thing heard amidst their astonishment.
It seems their magical philosophy never expected a raw force that doesn't need incantations to open locked doors.
I completely ignored his astonishment and brushed the dust off my hands with indifference as if I hadn't destroyed a wall seconds ago.
I stepped toward him with confident steps until I was directly facing him, staring into his eyes with a sharpness that pierced through his shock.
I said with an icy coldness that woke him from his daze:
"What? You were the one who insisted on opening it."
He swallowed hard, as if my words had brought back his senses with an electric shock.
He cleared his throat, trying to regain his lost prestige before his students, then directed his gaze to the class, saying in a shaky tone:
"This... this is the new student."
Then he turned to me, completing:
"Introduce yourself."
I exhaled in suppressed annoyance, feeling a desire to leave.
"What is this nonsense? Are we on a date or what?"
This is what I thought as I turned toward those staring faces.
Their features were a mixture of shock that had not yet cleared, annoyance, and looks of contempt with which the "Masters of Magic" eye those below them.
I said with a coldness that cut off any room for discussion:
"Aria... from the Ash Outskirts."
I fell silent and continued eyeing them with that sharpness that forces eyes to break.
The professor seemed as if he wanted to object, or perhaps craved more details, but I interrupted him with a firmer look that made him smile in confusion as he stepped back:
"Fine... fine, just sit anywhere."
I shifted my eyes away from him and began scanning the seats with a routine search, until my gaze froze.
There, amidst these strangers, I spotted him.
Someone I didn't expect to see specifically here; Christoph.
That boy from whom I saw what is supernatural, the owner of the mighty magical power that shakes bodies.
He sits quietly, smiling at me as if he were waiting for my arrival.
As soon as our eyes met, his smile widened, and his blue eyes shone with a sincere, childish joy that didn't match his terrifying strength.
"This madman..."
I muttered to myself. The seat next to him was vacant, and at least he is a familiar face in this desolate hall.
I headed toward him with my stony features, while the students' looks followed me like whips, whispering questions about the secret of this barbarism that dared to enter their session.
I sat next to him and said in a low tone:
"Good morning."
His voice came to me full of enthusiasm, as if he had found his goal:
"Good morning! I am truly happy because you are okay, Aria."
I turned to him, scanned his features precisely; his joy was real, pure of any falsity.
I felt something soften inside me, so a semi-smile formed on my face, and I raised my hand to pat his shoulder lightly, saying:
"Thank you for your concern, Christoph."
His eyes widened in surprise, and he froze in his place; for this was the first time I touched him or expressed my gratitude.
I left his astonishment behind me and shifted my gaze away from him, staring at the teacher with coldness, and completely ignoring those whispers that began to rise in the hall about the
relationship of the "Daughter of Ash" with a wizard of Christoph's strength.